Stage
I still vividly remember the night I first saw Thomas "Tennessee" Williams' The Glass Menagerie. The show concluded in a mother-daughter tableau so gorgeous, so inarguably perfect and right, that it sealed the deal on my adult fascination with theater. I'm not saying Williams makes it easy for directors. He
Guides
I'm pleased to see Mr. Doyle breaking out as your choice for Olympia's Best Actor this year, as he's accumulated one of the most consistently solid resumés in town. I nominated him for Best Actor myself for his work in Harlequin Productions' Stardust Serenade (2011). You may remember that show
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I've enjoyed Rebecca Lea McCarthy's performances before, most recently in Arsenic and Old Lace at Lakewood Playhouse. In 2012, I nominated her "Doris" from Olympia Little Theatre's Same Time, Next Year for a Carvy. Turns out she's an author, too, and her second book, Writing the Diaphragm Blues and Other
Arts
I wish I could review every show, truly, but some intrigue me far more than others. There's no point in writing and publishing a critique of Singing the Diaphragm Blues, as it runs a single weekend, but it sure does sound fascinating. I mean, how many plays offer "chickens, diaphragms,
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Do you love animals? How 'bout dark comedy? Do Sarah McLachlan ads for the ASPCA make you projectile weep? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then do we have the show for you. Elliot Weiner (pronounced "winer") is a playwright, actor, and director most recently seen in
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Director C. Rosalind Bell's staging completes the Broadway Center's production of all 10 plays in Wilson's "Pittsburgh Cycle," one for each decade of the 20th century. (Famous installments include Fences and The Piano Lesson, each of which won a Pulitzer Prize.) Joe Turner's Come and Gone demands nuanced
Stage
Peter Turney was a Tennessee Supreme Court justice who governed that state from 1893 to 1897. His brother, Joe, made a living by transporting Negro prisoners from Memphis to the state pen in Nashville. Along the way, he picked up extra men by enticing them into craps games, arresting and
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As I watched Olympia Little Theatre's production of Educating Rita, a show it essentially ported over from Evergreen Playhouse in Centralia, I was reminded of both Oleanna and another play in love with English poetry, Margaret Edson's Wit. In this production, John Pratt (Premiere!) embodies Frank. Kaaren Spanski-Dreffin, one
Stage
I get Frank Bryant in Willy Russell's 1980 two-hander Educating Rita; not that I've played the role, though I have costarred in a play with a similar setup, David Mamet's Oleanna (1993). In that show, a female student compensates for intellectual weaknesses by accusing her male professor of sexist behavior.
Arts
Playwright August Wilson's "Pittsburgh Cycle" comprises ten plays about the African-American experience, each set in its own decade of the 20th century. It's a massive, multifaceted saga worthy of the best work from actors, designers, and directors. C. Rosalind Bell, a playwright herself, knew and worked with Wilson and Claude
Stage
Few lines of dialogue are surer to bring me to tears than "Miss Jean Louise, stand up. Your father's passing." I'm moved by tales of goodness; if ever there was a novel that pondered the differences between legal, right and good, it's Harper Lee's immortal To Kill a Mockingbird. You've
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Trudy hears voices. She's what folks used to call a "bag lady," back before the descriptor "homeless" gained traction, and we meet her at the corner of Walk and Don't Walk in New York City. She ascribes these voices to signals from "space chums," amorphous aliens who
Stage
Trudy hears voices. She's what folks used to call a "bag lady," back before the descriptor "homeless" gained traction, and we meet her at the corner of Walk and Don't Walk in New York City. She ascribes these voices to signals from "space chums," amorphous aliens who collect human experiences
Stage
I'm this close to giving up on jukebox musicals altogether. For one thing, the people who enjoy them - and those people are legion - do so for reasons that have nothing to do with theater criticism. I like nostalgia, too, which is why I have '80s songs on my
